Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Coffee With Steve, #4.
Hi everyone! How are you all today? Welcome back to another Coffee time with Muffin and I! On these cool days it is always so nice to have some hot coffee or tea or even some hot chocolate. Nothing like something hot to add a little comfort to the day. Speaking of which, we got another 3 inches, a bit more actually, (8cm) of snow. But it was a lighter fluffy type of snow which is nice. Certainly turned everything white again in a hurry. But we are getting closer to spring every day. Though it still seems so far away.
Hi Richard and Buddy, nice to have you both come out today. How do you like your coffee? Hello Yonnie, how have you been? Coffee coming up for everyone. Here’s Sheree too, I can just imagine the wonderful treats you have brought for us today. And I have your coffee ready too, bold and black. Hi Renee, just in time for a fresh pot of coffee. Hi Lydia and Tiffany, so nice to see you both here today. Hello Hilary, glad that you had time to stop by and join us.
I thought I would show you some of my blue and white collection today. That is my favorite color combination though I am starting to like red and black as well, at least for some things, like blankets. It gives a place sort of a country cabin look which is just so cozy and calm. But today, it’s blue and white. Starting with some of my graniteware collection in the photo below. That is one of my top favorites and also gives that country cabin look which I enjoy.
And on this shelf above my kitchen sink is some of my blue and white dishes mostly from the late 1800s.
In the above photo, the serving plate on the left is from the 1870s and the soup bowl on the right is from 1835 to 1859, based on the maker’s mark.
Here we have some of my favorite pitchers, the spongeware water pitcher on the left is 9 inches (22.5cm) tall for scale. All are from 1880 to 1900. The blue on these old dishes can vary a lot from a bright blue to an almost grayish blue. But they all look so nice and fit into my collection. Well does anyone need a refill yet? I figured Buddy and Richard would like some by now for sure. I see that Muffin is back with Renee again. I hope you don’t mind getting a few cat hairs on you.
I hope you have enjoyed our little visit and tour today, it was so nice having you all stop by for some coffee and a chat. Sorry this is a bit late, but there was some technical problems today which hopefully are all taken care of now. Until next time I hope you all have a wonderful week and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
© 2020 Steve McLeod.
20/20 Investigations, Inc…The Palace, Chapter 10.
This is not good Muffin, but it seems the only way out is to go down. I think someone is trying to force us to go a certain direction. Meow, meow!=Yes, so they can kill us in the torture chamber! Stop worrying Muffin, we’ll be okay. Now, back up on my shoulder so you can keep watch behind us. Meow.=Okay. I didn’t even know we could go this deep. The stairway was short and led to another room with a low ceiling. Nothing in the room at all except a lot of dust. Obviously no one has been down here in a long time. There are 3 doors in this room and no window. This place is getting to be like a maze, I hope we don’t get lost.
I open one door and it leads to another small room with no window or door besides this one. But it does have more broken furniture. Why would they carry broken furniture all the way down to this room? It’s probably been here a hundred years or more. Muffin and I poke around for a while anyway. Okay Muffin, we better get going, I’m starting to get an uneasy feeling down here. Meow!=About time! Back on my should for you. I open another door and there is a doorway leading up. Perfect Muffin. Meow.=Those stairs don’t look safe. They are stone stairs and definitely crumbling a lot, but I think they are still solid enough Muffin.
Up we go and they finally stop at a spot about 3 x 3 feet (nearly a square meter) in size. Hmm, this makes no sense, unless there used to be a door here and it was blocked off many years ago. Muffin and I start to look around for any sign of a door and…AAAAA!!!, Meoooow!! The floor was actually a trap door and it opened causing us to drop into some sort of pit with…4 skeletons! Meow, meow! See, I told you we are going to die in here! I must admit, the presence of skeletons is not very comforting, that could mean there is no way out of here. With these thick stone walls no one would ever hear our calls for help, and perhaps no one wants to hear.
Meow? Why don’t I phone Rossana? Um, well, I forgot to bring my phone. How did you learn to roll your eyes like that Muffin? Meow.=Practice. I shouldn’t have asked. Good thing we have our backpacks though. I bring out my hammer and start tapping the walls. Meow, meow?=Are you planning to knock down those stone walls with that little hammer? I’m looking for a hollow, or weak spot Muffin, I should be able to tell by the sound. Meow!=Look over here! What did you find Muffin? Hey, look at that, good girl Muffin! Now we just need to find a way out of here. Hey, a loose stone here. I get out a chisel and start to slowly pry it out. I just hope my flashlight lasts long enough, I should have put new batteries in it.
Finally I get the stone out and shine my flashlight through the opening. Another room, and with stairs going up! I guess these people were trying to dig their way out but didn’t make it. After getting that first stone out of the way, it was fairly easy to get another one out. That gave us just enough room to get through. Muffin went first, then I pushed our backpacks through. Muffin dragged them out of the way while I managed to squeeze through the opening. There was nothing in the room but a few dusty boxes in one corner. I decide not to check them, we both want to get out of here. These stairs were very narrow and in really bad shape, but solid enough for us.
But before heading up we put our backpacks on and I set up Muffin with her slingshot. Up we go on these winding stairs until we come to a door, which was locked. Time to go through those keys again and finally found the right one. I cautiously open the door and…we are at the hallway where we came in! We step into the hall and…Giuseppe!!
To be continued.
Steve and Muffin.
© 2020 Steve McLeod.
